NFL I TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

Ahead of the learning curve

Game experience was invaluable for Freeman

Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman pushes umpire Tony Michalek out of his way as Atlanta defensive tackle Trey Lewis give chase in the third quarter
during the Bucs' 20-17 loss to the Falcons at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Sunday.

Published: Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 9:18 p.m.

TAMPA - However the drama of the Buccaneers' season may have bungled the orientation of quarterback Josh Freeman, the coaching staff could have done worse by him.

Facts

"Obviously, I had my ups and my downs. But at the end of the day, I got a lot of valuable experience. As a quarterback, you take it on yourself when your team loses. Maybe it's a bad ball, maybe it's a turnover in a critical moment."

Josh Freeman, Bucs rookie QB

That is what he thinks, even though the 21-year-old, first-round draft pick threw 18 interceptions in his nine starts, had to endure the abrupt transition of offensive coordinators from Jeff Jagodzinski to Greg Olson, and then sit and watch Byron Leftwich and Josh Johnson work the team into an 0-7 start.

Then he was thrown into the lineup after getting hardly any repetitions in training camp because head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Mark Dominik originally intended for Freeman to spend a whole season learning from the sidelines.

"I couldn't imagine sitting out this entire season and going into the first game next year not having any game experience," Freeman said Monday.

To his benefit, he goes into his first offseason with a body of work to critique, thanks to the 3-13 record that made the Buccaneers' season all about developing their rookie quarterback.

"I just have to find a way to make the plays that are necessary and also not make the plays that will lose a game," Freeman said, offering a summary of his mandate entering the 2010 season.

Freeman led the team to all three of its victories and had the Buccaneers in position to win at least two more, before the defense collapsed to blow fourth-quarter leads in the losses in Atlanta and Miami.

But he did throw five interceptions in a loss at Carolina and threw three interceptions in two other games.

Barber would not agree the Buccaneers would have necessarily won more games had Freeman played the entire season.

"That's hard to say. The greatest quarterback in the league right now (Peyton Manning) started his rookie year 1-and-15," Barber said. "He made some strides. He looks like a veteran starter in the league right now. Nothing fazes him. The future is bright for the kid. We all know that. You see it."

"Obviously, I had my ups and my downs. But at the end of the day, I got a lot of valuable experience," Freeman said. "As a quarterback, you take it on yourself when your team loses. Maybe it's a bad ball, maybe it's a turnover in a critical moment. Maybe you hinder the team from winning."

Two areas he must work on, are his decision-making and his throwing accuracy. He tried to force balls into double and triple coverage, sailed other throws high and he missed receivers he should have easily hit on numerous occasions.

"Definitely I see myself making leaps and bounds in both of those areas," Freeman said. "That comes with confidence."

Freeman completed 159 of 291 attempts (54.6 percent) for 1,857 yards 10 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He was sacked 20 times for 102 yards and posted a 59.9 quarterback rating.

"He shouldn't worry about anything," Barber said. "He's got a whole offseason to figure out how to correct all those mistakes. Find out when to take those chances and when to just eat it and win on another down."

Most of the interceptions resulted from the confusion spawned by having too much to think about before he scanned the field for his receivers.

"You know, when you're out there worried about the protections, worrying about everything else, I mean you're not going to be going through your progressions clearly," Freeman said. "When you're not going through your progressions clearly, you're just kind of maybe locking on a guy, or you flash and you think you see someone open. You don't always make the best decision, or the most accurate pass."

The offense will gain stability, with Olson having a full offseason to tailor the playbook to Freeman's strengths.

"Obviously we're going to call formations different and there's going to be a lot of different schemes and stuff that we might not have gotten to this year because it was kind of a makeshift offense," Freeman said. "Everybody was kind of grinding on Jagodzinski's offense in the offseason, through OTA's then we flipped it. So, we still had to keep some of Jagodzinski's stuff. I think it's just going to be more of Coach Olson's flavor in there."

Freeman's greatest experiences had to be guiding a 1-12 team to those improbable back-to-back December road wins at Seattle and New Orleans.

"There was never a time this year where we felt like, man, we couldn't win, there was a team that was just going to beat us," Freeman said. "It was just a matter of finding those few plays that could change the outcome of a game.

"We have a good team. We showed that in New Orleans, that without me playing spectacular the team can go out and win."

Bucs notes

A report on NFL.com stated that the Glazers might still be interested in Bill Cowher, whom they reportedly told they would pay a maximum of $6 million per year. Cowher is not sure how serious the Glazers would be about spending money on players.

T Donald Penn said that the knee injury he suffered in the season finale is not serious.

KR Clifton Smith, who went on the injured reserve with two concussions, said he went through neurological tests and has been cleared to play again.

<p><em>TAMPA</em> - However the drama of the Buccaneers' season may have bungled the orientation of quarterback Josh Freeman, the coaching staff could have done worse by him.</p><p>That is what he thinks, even though the 21-year-old, first-round draft pick threw 18 interceptions in his nine starts, had to endure the abrupt transition of offensive coordinators from Jeff Jagodzinski to Greg Olson, and then sit and watch Byron Leftwich and Josh Johnson work the team into an 0-7 start.</p><p>Then he was thrown into the lineup after getting hardly any repetitions in training camp because head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Mark Dominik originally intended for Freeman to spend a whole season learning from the sidelines.</p><p>"I couldn't imagine sitting out this entire season and going into the first game next year not having any game experience," Freeman said Monday.</p><p>To his benefit, he goes into his first offseason with a body of work to critique, thanks to the 3-13 record that made the Buccaneers' season all about developing their rookie quarterback.</p><p>"I just have to find a way to make the plays that are necessary and also not make the plays that will lose a game," Freeman said, offering a summary of his mandate entering the 2010 season.</p><p>Freeman led the team to all three of its victories and had the Buccaneers in position to win at least two more, before the defense collapsed to blow fourth-quarter leads in the losses in Atlanta and Miami.</p><p>But he did throw five interceptions in a loss at Carolina and threw three interceptions in two other games.</p><p>"All the young ones struggle early," said cornerback Ronde Barber. "Who comes in and (immediately) plays great?"</p><p>Barber would not agree the Buccaneers would have necessarily won more games had Freeman played the entire season.</p><p>"That's hard to say. The greatest quarterback in the league right now (Peyton Manning) started his rookie year 1-and-15," Barber said. "He made some strides. He looks like a veteran starter in the league right now. Nothing fazes him. The future is bright for the kid. We all know that. You see it."</p><p>"Obviously, I had my ups and my downs. But at the end of the day, I got a lot of valuable experience," Freeman said. "As a quarterback, you take it on yourself when your team loses. Maybe it's a bad ball, maybe it's a turnover in a critical moment. Maybe you hinder the team from winning."</p><p>Two areas he must work on, are his decision-making and his throwing accuracy. He tried to force balls into double and triple coverage, sailed other throws high and he missed receivers he should have easily hit on numerous occasions.</p><p>"Definitely I see myself making leaps and bounds in both of those areas," Freeman said. "That comes with confidence."</p><p>Freeman completed 159 of 291 attempts (54.6 percent) for 1,857 yards 10 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He was sacked 20 times for 102 yards and posted a 59.9 quarterback rating.</p><p>"He shouldn't worry about anything," Barber said. "He's got a whole offseason to figure out how to correct all those mistakes. Find out when to take those chances and when to just eat it and win on another down."</p><p>Most of the interceptions resulted from the confusion spawned by having too much to think about before he scanned the field for his receivers.</p><p>"You know, when you're out there worried about the protections, worrying about everything else, I mean you're not going to be going through your progressions clearly," Freeman said. "When you're not going through your progressions clearly, you're just kind of maybe locking on a guy, or you flash and you think you see someone open. You don't always make the best decision, or the most accurate pass."</p><p>The offense will gain stability, with Olson having a full offseason to tailor the playbook to Freeman's strengths.</p><p>"Obviously we're going to call formations different and there's going to be a lot of different schemes and stuff that we might not have gotten to this year because it was kind of a makeshift offense," Freeman said. "Everybody was kind of grinding on Jagodzinski's offense in the offseason, through OTA's then we flipped it. So, we still had to keep some of Jagodzinski's stuff. I think it's just going to be more of Coach Olson's flavor in there."</p><p>Freeman's greatest experiences had to be guiding a 1-12 team to those improbable back-to-back December road wins at Seattle and New Orleans.</p><p>"There was never a time this year where we felt like, man, we couldn't win, there was a team that was just going to beat us," Freeman said. "It was just a matter of finding those few plays that could change the outcome of a game.</p><p>"We have a good team. We showed that in New Orleans, that without me playing spectacular the team can go out and win."</p><p>Bucs notes</p><p>A report on NFL.com stated that the Glazers might still be interested in Bill Cowher, whom they reportedly told they would pay a maximum of $6 million per year. Cowher is not sure how serious the Glazers would be about spending money on players.</p><p>T Donald Penn said that the knee injury he suffered in the season finale is not serious.</p><p>KR Clifton Smith, who went on the injured reserve with two concussions, said he went through neurological tests and has been cleared to play again.</p>